If you're a first time buyer scouting for the best property in town, is the deluge of marketing offers leaving you overwhelmed? Here is a survival guide to help you make safe real estate investments and not get swayed by marketing gimmicks.

So, like millions of citizens, Yashpal Arora, who lives in Gurgaon, a New Delhi suburb, wanted to benefit from rising property prices. He invested in plots advertised by Vian Infrastructure, a real estate company launched in 2006 withseveral projects across the country. Impressed by the company's advertisements, Arora invested in multiple plots in Neemrana, Jaipur and Haridwar in 2006. Around 80 of his friends and relatives also invested in the company's projects.